Last week I went on a school orchestra trip to NYC. The purpose of the trip was to expose me and several other students to the art, culture, and general layout of New York and parts of New Jersey. It all started on a Tuesday afternoon after school. As soon as the bell rang we began to congregate in the orchestra room. After a few minutes of waiting for the stragglers to show up, we were introduced to our guides. Their names were Sheryl and Jeff, they were a retired couple who had gotten the awesome gig of helping schools go on trips all over the country. After they had told us of all the boring rules and safety measures we had to follow, we went out to load the bus.
Helping us load the bus were our two drivers: Joe and Daryl. We needed two drivers becuase for time we would be driving straight through the night and it would be unsafe for only one to have to drive for close to sixteen hours straight without sleep. The bus itself was small, not much bigger than a school bus with only slightly more comfortable chairs. Because of this the ride was fairly uncomfortable, and sleeping was difficult, but after several hours of driving we managed it.
The next morning was when our one fiasco for the trip took place. We had stopped at a McDonald's to get some breakfast and allow everyone to brush their teeth and change their clothes. During this time one of the senior girls on the trip named Addie managed to get a contact stuck in her eye. This led to us taking a detour to the ER so that she could have help getting it removed. During that time we all got to go a Walmart to pee and waste time. While we were there Alex and Soren, two Juniors I know since we all play bass, decided to buy Nerf guns, which managed to not be a distraction on the bus, but became very amusing once we all reached the hotel. When we finally reached our New York our first stop was the Intrepid Museum, an old WWII aircraft carrier that now contains lots of old plains, spaceships, and other air related memorabilia. It was pretty cool for a museum, and I had a pretty fun time walking around with friends.
From there we went to the Hard Rock Cafe in times square. The food was OK, we had to order off a different menu designed for large groups and it didnt't have many options. But we got to see a lot of cool metal and rock things like signed guitars and costumes from music videos, so that was pretty dope. After that we had about an hour to shop around times square. That was super overwhelming, all the lights and shops was a lot to take in, and though I saw some cool stuff I didn't buy anything. After that we were in for one more surprise treat back at the hotel. All the Toilets were bidets, which seemed to please almost every guy on the trip and was even claimed to be a "highlight" by more than one.
On the second day we took a bus tour around NYC with three distinct stops. The first of these was at Lincoln. This was amazing as we got to see a Broadway theater right next to the met, which was right next to the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, whcih was right next to the music library, whcih was right across the street from Julliard School of Music. From there took a walk through central park which was cool but pretty dismal and foggy. After that we went and had lunch at grand central terminal, where I had a twelve dollar slice of avocado on rye toast. After that it was time for our Broadway show. We saw On Your Feet, which was about a Cuban-American Pop singer and her life's struggle to get to the top. I really enjoyed it because of all the amazing drumming and dancing, and most other people in our group seemed to like it as well. After that it was time to sleep again.
Our third day in New York we started by going to see the Statue of Liberty. I found it underwhelming as I thought it would be bigger than it turned out to be. From there we headed over to the 9/11 memorial which was extremely moving. From there we headed to what was the highlight of the day for me, Chinatown and Little Italy. There I had some super good pizza, canoli, and other foods. Plus I had the best milkshake of my life. The most surprising part for me was the amount of stereotypical Italian men swearing at each other. All of the street sellers were pretty cool as well, and the amount of people who asked me if I wanted to buy a watch was almost comical. From there we went to the top of the rock observatory and got a pretty cool view of the skyline.
Our last day was probably my favorite. We started the day at the Guggenheim where we saw a lot of cool paintings including a few Picasso's and a Van Gough. This was also where I got all of my souvenirs. After that we headed to the Museum of Natural History, which I found rather boring. There was just so many exhibits and we only had about an hour there. Plus we ate lunch there and it cost me thirty dollars to get a sandwich and some watery mac-and-cheese. From there we went to Rockefeller plaza I had a lot of fun as my friend Ben and I were the only people who thought to go ice skating, which was super cool! From there we went back to times square to eat at Dallas BBQ. This was my first BBQ restaurant and everyone teased me because I thought the little packets on the table had BBQ sauce in them instead of wet wipes. Although to be fair they had BBQ printed on them! After that we had a little time left in times square, so a few friends and I wandered around without buying anything. I was pretty annoyed when we got picked up from the bus as we were right across the street from Birdland, which is one of the worlds most infamous Jazz Club, and we didn't get a chance to go into it. Plus it was a Saturday Night so there would have been some great band playing!
After times square it was time for our Opera at the Met. We saw La Traviata, which is a romantic tragedy about a prostitute who leaves her profession for the man of her dreams but is then forced by his father to give him up. Then she dies after a half an hour of death scene. I didn't pay much attention to the plot as I had a direct line of site with the pit and kept looking down at them. Plus it all was obviously in Italian and I didn't want to try and read subtitles. The design of the Opera was very modern and minimalist which I found very cool. The only set pieces were a few couches and the only props were a couple bottles of alcohol. After the Opera it was time for the sixteen hour ride back home. Luckily we were all so tired that I was only awake for about two hours of it.
The End.
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